Study on phase separation in a-SiOx for Si nanocrystal formation through the correlation of photoluminescence with structural and optical properties

The phase separation in amorphous silicon suboxide (a-SiO_x) films upon thermal annealing for the formation of light emitting silicon nanocrystals (Si-NCs) was studied through the correlation of photoluminescence (PL) and photoluminescence excitation (PLE) with structural and optical properties. The PL and PLE features and the structural and optical properties show a strong dependence on the annealing process and reveal that the precipitation of the excess Si in a-SiO_x and the formation of Si-NCs from the precipitated Si are two separate processes which should be distinguished in the phase separation in a-SiO_x. They proceed at different temperatures and the formation of Si-NCs is a slow process compared with the precipitation of the excess Si. The nanocrystal size and size distribution evolve with annealing time at the initial stages and are mainly dependent on annealing temperature for a certain O content in the initial a-SiO_x with the density of the formed Si-NCs increasing with longer annealing duration.     

Annealing and amorphous silicon passivation of porous silicon with blue light emission

The photoluminescence (PL) of the annealed and amorphous silicon passivated porous silicon with blue emission has been investigated. The N-type and P-type porous silicon fabricated by electrochemical etching was annealed in the temperature range of 700-900 °C, and was coated with amorphous silicon formed in a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) process. After annealing, the variation of PL intensity of N-type porous silicon was different from that of P-type porous silicon, depending on their structure. It was also found that during annealing at 900 °C, the coated amorphous silicon crystallized into polycrystalline silicon, which passivated the irradiative centers on the surface of porous silicon so as to increase the intensity of the blue emission.     

Influence of the temperature on the photoluminescence of silicon clusters embedded in a silicon oxide matrix

Amorphous silicon oxide thin films were prepared by co-evaporation of Si and SiO in ultra-high vacuum. Different compositions were obtained by changing the evaporation rate of silicon. After thermal annealing treatments, the dissociation of the silicon oxide in pure silicon and silicon dioxide leads to the formation of silicon clusters embedded in a silicon oxide matrix. Thus the samples were annealed to different temperatures up to 950°C. Depending on the annealing temperature and on the composition, different cluster sizes were obtained. The photoluminescence (PL) energy depends on the cluster size and a large range of wavelengths is obtained from 500 to 750 nm. The PL, attributed to a confinement effect of the electron–hole pairs in the silicon particles, is studied as a function of the temperature. It is demonstrated that the continuous decrease of PL intensity with the temperature from 77 to 500 K depends on the structure of the samples. For samples with well-separated clusters, the PL decreases rapidly with the temperature. For samples containing clusters separated by a small distance, the PL weakly depends on the temperature. No shift of the energy is observed. The results are discussed by taking into account the competition between the radiative recombination in the silicon clusters and the non-radiative escape of the carriers via a hopping mechanism.     

Effects of thermal annealing and ageing on porous silicon photoluminescence

Effects of vacuum and ambient thermal annealing and ageing on the photoluminescence (PL) spectra of porous silicon (po-Si) have been investigated. Isochronal anneals up to 300°C were done and PL spectra were recorded and compared to the un-annealed specimens. Minimal changes are induced for anneals below approximately 125°C; however, significant reduction in PL intensity occurs following anneals at T?≥?200°C. Deconvolution of the PL spectra into five distinct Gaussian bands reveals that at least two of the bands are attributable to non-quantum confinement mechanisms. Specifically, bands appearing at 1.58 and 1.78?eV are ascribed to non-bridging oxygen hole related defects. Recovery of PL intensity following thermal annealing occurs over a period of several days at a rate that is dependent upon annealing temperature and environment. Passivation of Si dangling bonds on the po-Si surface via effusion of hydrogen and incorporation of oxygen is responsible for the observed variations in PL intensity.     

Thermal annealing dependence of some optical properties of plasma-modified porous silicon

The photoluminescence and reflectance of porous silicon (PS) with and without hydrocarbon (CH_x) deposition fabricated by plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) technique have been investigated. The PS samples were then, annealed at temperatures between 200 and 800 °C. The influence of thermal annealing on optical properties of the hydrocarbon layer/porous silicon/silicon structure (CH_x/PS/Si) was studied by means of photoluminescence (PL) measurements, reflectivity and ellipsometry spectroscopy. The composition of the PS surface was monitored by transmission Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Photoluminescence and reflectance measurements were carried out before and after annealing on the carbonized samples for wavelengths between 250 and 1200 nm. A reduction of the reflectance in the ultraviolet region of the spectrum was observed for the hydrocarbon deposited polished silicon samples but an opposite behaviour was found in the case of the CH_x/PS ones. From the comparison of the photoluminescence and reflectance spectra, it was found that most of the contribution of the PL in the porous silicon came from its upper interface. The PL and reflectance spectra were found to be opposite to one another. Increasing the annealing temperature reduced the PL intensity and an increase in the ultraviolet reflectance was observed. These observations, consistent with a surface dominated emission process, suggest that the surface state of the PS is the principal determinant of the PL spectrum and the PL efficiency.     

掺饵氢化非晶氧化硅1.54μm发光性质的研究

采用等离子体增强化学汽相沉积技术生长不同氧含量的氢化非晶氧化硅薄膜(a-SiO_{x∶H),离子注入铒及退火后在室温观察到很强的光致发光.当材料中氧硅含量比约为1和 1.76时,分别对应77Ｋ和室温测量时最强的1.54μm光致发光.从15到250Ｋ的变温实验显示 出三个不同的强度与温度变化关系,表明氢化非晶氧化硅中铒离子的能量激发和发光是一个 复杂的过程.提出氢化非晶氧化硅薄膜中发光铒离子来自于富氧区,并对实验现象进行了解 释.氢化非晶氧化硅中铒发光的温度淬灭效应很弱.从15到250Ｋ,光致发光强度减弱约1/2. 关键词： 铒 光致发光 氧含量}     

掺铒SiOx的光致发光特性

利用分子束外延设备生长了掺铒SiO_x,观察到铒掺入的同时O的掺入效率也得到提高.铒可以促进氧的掺入的原因是铒与氧在硅衬底表面反应，以络合物形式掺入硅中，从而提高了硅中氧的浓度.测量了铒在SiO_x中的光致发光特性，结果表明掺铒的SiO_x的发光强度从18K到300K仅下降了约1/2，这说明Er掺在SiO_x中是一种降低发光强度的温度淬灭效应的途径，最后讨论了温度淬灭的机制. 关键词：     

镶嵌在氧化硅薄膜中纳米晶硅的可见光荧光谱与发光机制的研究

采用对非晶氧化硅薄膜退火处理方法，获得纳米晶硅与氧化硅的镶嵌结构．室温下观察到峰位为2.40eV光致发光．系统地研究了不同退火温度对薄膜的Raman谱、光荧光谱及光电子谱的影响．结果表明，荧光谱可分成两个不随温度变化的峰位为1.86和2.30eV的发光带．Si2p能级光电子谱表明与发光强度一样Si⁴⁺强度随退火温度增加而增加．Si平均晶粒大小为4.1—8.0nm，不能用量子限制模型解释蓝绿光的发射．纳米晶硅与SiO₂界面或SiO₂中与氧有关的缺陷可能是蓝绿光发射的主要原因 关键词：     

Correlation between impurities in Fe-Si amorphous layers synthesized by Fe implantation and photoluminescence property of β-FeSi2 precipitates in Si

Completely amorphous Fe-Si layers are formed by Fe implantation into Si substrate at a dosage of 5×10¹⁵ cm⁻² using a metal vapor vacuum arc (MEVVA) ion source under 80 kV extraction voltage and cryogenic temperature. After thermal annealing, β-FeSi₂ precipitates are formed in Si matrix. The influence of impurities in these amorphous Fe-Si layers on the photoluminescence (PL) from β-FeSi₂ precipitates is investigated. PL is found to be significantly enhanced by optimizing the impurity concentration and annealing scheme. After 60 s of rapid thermal annealing (RTA) at 900 °C, β-FeSi₂ precipitates in medium boron-doped Si substrate give the strongest PL intensity without boron out-diffusion from them.     

Investigation of the dependence of the photoluminescence properties of silicon nanoclusters on their volume fraction in a silicon oxide matrix

The photoluminescence (PL) spectra and kinetics of amorphous and crystalline silicon nanoclusters are investigated. The given nanoclusters are formed by thermal annealing of thin suboxide silicon films with different volume fractions of silicon. It is demonstrated that the PL intensity and lifetime of the ensembles of silicon nanocrystals have a steplike dependence on the silicon volume fraction in the film. The influence of the percolation effect on the photoluminescence properties of the structures under study is discussed.